Semi Hauling Beer Rolls Off Runaway Truck Ramp

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – A semi-truck hauling beer rolled off a runaway truck ramp and down an embankment on Highway 6 Tuesday morning.

The truck struck two vehicles and left three people hurt, one seriously. Two of those hurt are Arapahoe Basin Ski Area employees. The crash closed Loveland Pass.

(credit: Lake Dillon Fire Rescue)

The crash happened just before 8 a.m. near mile marker 219 on Highway 6 over Loveland Pass. The pass was closed to traffic during the accident cleanup and investigation.

Initial reports show the trailer rolled and covered the westbound lanes when it was struck by two other passenger vehicles. Those vehicles also went down an embankment.

“The thing was sideways across the road and just knocking those cars those cars off in the ditch,” a witness said. “So pretty crazy.”

The truck was hauling cases of Michelob Ultra.

With the rollover, the Colorado Department of Transportation instituted a commercial truck closure that forced traffic over Loveland Pass instead of through the Eisenhower Tunnel.

It’s not uncommon for semis to crash on high country passes.

“Guys lose their brakes … they had everyone coming over Loveland for the bridge construction on I-70 and this guy has never been through the mountains before,” said Larry Lewarj with Ski Country Towing said. “This is what happens.”

The Colorado State Patrol is investigating but believe speed was a factor in the crash.